A few words about…™ – High Plains Drifter — in 4k UHD

High Plains Drifter 4K Review

[FONT=times new roman][SIZE=5]Mr. Eastwood’s second film as director, and his first in the western genre shows a blossoming talent.

It just so happened that I put this on screen after sampling Planes, Trains… and totally shut down and re-started as the difference between the two was so extraordinary. After my recent tech snafu with Casablanca I wanted to be certain.

I’m certain.

I returned to a few moments of Planes, and then viewed High Plains Drifter in its entirety.

The difference is full-on Beauty and the Beast.

Derived as a 4k scan of the OCN, Universal has given this film the respect that it deserves, and supplied a master of superb, reference quality to Kino.

Colors pop off the screen. Grain structure is perfect. The image is clean, stable and appears very much akin to a 35mm dye transfer print.

Perfect in every regard, and the purpose of 4k UHD.

After viewing, I checked Blu-ray inventory and was reminded that this was released by Universal in a 7-disc set of Mr. Eastwood’s work which also includes Two Mules, Joe Kidd, Beguiled, Coogan’s Bluff, Play Misty and Eiger Sanction.

And that got me to wondering if Kino has the rest of these in their Universal deal, and if we’ll also be seeing them in 4k.

Image – 5 (Dolby Vision)

Audio – 5 (DTS -HD MA 5.1)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors – Yes

Upgrade from Recent Blu-ray – Absolutely!

Makes use of and works well in 4k – 4

Very Highly Recommended

RAH

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Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.

His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.

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Capt D McMars

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Todd Doc Sigmier
You've hit my soft spot!!! I have always been a fan of Eastwood, starting back in the Rawhide days. His Play Misty for Me and Outlaw Josie Wales were keepers, as wel as this title. Thanks for the info RAH!!
 

sbjork

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Universal has just been knocking it out of the park the last couple of years with their 4K catalogue masters. And they were the ones who were notorious for dumping dated, heavily processed DVD masters onto Blu-ray for many years -- not just the earliest years of the format, either. But now? They're almost rivaling Sony these days. Meanwhile, Paramount. . .
 

B-ROLL

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more like
star trek spock GIF


KHAN! - Ironically one of their better 4K transfers :D
 

Jeffrey D

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Jeffrey D Hanawalt
My dream is that a massive 4K boxset of all Clint Eastwood films may appear someday...probably my favourite actor of all time. What a talent and a legend!!
I don’t know his Westerns (except for The Good, Bad & Ugly), but if Mystic River was added to a big collection, I’d snap it up.
 

cineMANIAC

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I'm glad this one got through unscathed, unlike Paramount's Escape From Alcatraz. Additionally happy that it's a Western with great PQ. Westers NEED to look great on 4K.
 
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